Travel back in time with our films this week, to DANGEROUS LIAISONS’ Rococo period France, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO’S 1950′s Sweden, or THE LIVES OF OTHERS’ 1980′s Cold War Germany. In fact, four of our five selections involve a look to the past. But you won’t need a DeLorean for the trip back!
This week, we’ve got Tilda Swinton in a film literally for the ages. Also don’t miss Paul Newman and Tom Cruise partnering up with Martin Scorsese, Christian Bale going on a crash diet, and more.
This week’s films are deep. From the fragility of human existence to the meaning of war, our lineup this week will make you think. But they’re also star-studded, with names like Brad Pitt, Kate Winslet and a young Mel Gibson to keep your eyes locked on the screen. And we’ve got high octane entertainment too, in the form of a Tarantino-produced bank heist gone wrong. All that and more below!
This week, we’ve got Forest Whitaker as a brutal dictator, Robert Redford in the CIA, and Jodie Foster as a domineering nun. Can you say “playing against type”? Watch these actors and others prove that great actors can play any role, and they can make us believe.
This week, get hooked on the original screen adaptation of the Millennium trilogy with Noomi Rapace in THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. We’ve also got a classic from the Coen Brothers, an essential Spike Jonze/Charlie Kaufman collaboration, and more.
Writing movies is hard. This week, let’s show a little appreciation for all the struggling screenwriters out there. Sometimes, the only thing you can do is just write a movie about yourself, as Charlie Kaufman did (portrayed above by Nicolas Cage). And sometimes, that’s what ends up winning awards.
This week, around the 10 year anniversary of our last military foray into a foreign land, let’s think back to lessons not learned from an earlier conflict. We’ve got Michael Caine starring in a film that explores the ethical morass surrounding even the early days of the Vietnam War, in a sleeper of a film that shouldn’t be missed. And don’t forget our four other featured films this week, including Robert Downey Jr. in a career-making performance, an early Coen brothers classic and more.
Five films, six highly personal stories this week (one film actually has two distinct plots). Yes, even our one big-name Hollywood film is really just about a regular guy (who happens to look just like Harrison Ford) trying to do right by his wife. This is what storytelling in film is all about. Which leads us to…